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Scruffs' Fading Hope
Here is the next book after Scruffs' New Begining. The prologue is in Redscruff's point of view. If you don't remember, Redscruff was the last 'scruff' to be born, many, many moons before Whitescruff(Whitestar). Hope y'all enjoy it!! Rainfire 00:51, May 13, 2010 (UTC) Prologue I stretched in the pool of sunlight. StarClan is a great place to retire to. Well, it's not really retiring, but retire is better than saying, 'I died and now I'm in StarClan.' You get my point. I looked over and watched my mother, Goldenscruff, yawn and start to doze off. Goldenscruff is a beautiful black she-cat with a gold scruff and dark brown eyes. I glanced over at a big rock that Blackscruff liked to rest on. She was laying there now. Blackscruff only got up on special occasions, so I was surprised when she lifted her head and sat up. She had her ears pricked and was staring ahead at nothing. I noticed that her strirring had attracted the attention of all the other 'scruffs'. Blackscruff stretched and leaped gracefully off of the rock. She flicked her tail and the 'scruffs' followed her into the forest. We stopped at a pool. Blackscruff sat down and the rest of us gathered around the pool. "I have seen something very disturbing," Blackscruff meowed, her voice ringing with authority. No cat ever challenges Blackscruff. She is has the coldest heart of all the 'scruffs'. Spiritscruff stood up and adressed her mother calmly. "No doubt about that, Blackscruff," Spiritscruff said. Spiritscruff is a white she-cat with a silver scruff and light brown eyes. She is a very kind and patient cat, the total opposite of Blackscruff. Blackscruff looked over at a sandy colored tom with a dark brown scruff and brown eyes. "Have you seen it too, Oakscruff?" Blackscruff asked the sandy tom. Oakscruff nodded stifly. Oakscruff is a very wise and grounded tom. I looked around the clearing. There were tons of she-cats, and not very many toms. For some reason, toms that are 'scruffs' are very rare. Brightscruff, a tan she-cat with a cream colored scruff, stood up and looked at Oakscruff. "It couldn't have been that bad," she chirped. Brightscruff is a very happy-go-lucky cat. Always bright and alert, but can be very assertive. 'Scruffs' are similar in so many ways, but their personalities can be very, very different. There are cold hearted 'scruffs' and bright hearted 'scruffs'. There are 'scruffs' that refuse to fight, and blood thirsty 'scruffs'. There are assertive 'scruffs' and shy 'scruffs'. So many different personalities have caused some problems, but we 'scruffs' have a bond that can never be broken. We gasped as we saw the image that Blackscruff was talking about. Smallscruff stood up. "That was an interesting move you pulled there, Redscruff," Smallscruff said to me. I twitched my whiskers. Smallscruff is a well respected medicine cat. Her twin, Tinyscruff, also stood up. "Yes. How were you able to leave your mark on Whitestar? That was truly amazing," Tinyscruff said and dipped her head to me. I shrugged. I remembered Whitestar's calm reaction when she had seen her blood red paw. Other cats would have reacted with shock and would have been scared. "What are the benefits? Are there any draw-backs?" Spiritscruff asked me. "We can warn her of trouble by making that paw start to itch, burn, or sting. The draw-back is, we can't send her the warnings if she is dreaming," I answered. I had chosen to make her paw blood red, because that was the color of my paws. I have brown fur and a light red-brown scruff with blood red paws. "How were you able to do that?" Smallscruff asked. "I have a strong bond with Whitestar. It drained some energy, but it is well worth it. Also, I love her like a sister and I want to protect her in any way I can," I said. The 'scruffs' murmured to each other. "You have seen what I saw. No cat can tell her about this. That is all," Blackscruff said and dissmissed us. I hoped Whitestar would make the right choice in the end. Chapter 1 I stretched and blinked at the sunlight. I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked and saw a brown tom with brown eyes, a light red-brown scruff, and blood red paws. "Don't be afraid. I am Redscruff," he said. I met his gaze evenly. "That paw is not a curse, but it will be with you forever," he said and vanished. I shook my head and padded out of my den. A breeze rustled my fur. It felt good and was very relaxing. Flamingraven was sitting, back to me, on a stepping stone in the middle of the pond. I crosed the stones and sat down next to him. He glanced at me and lifted his head to the wind. "Feels nice," he murmured. "Yes it does," I murmured back. He pressed close to me and purred softly. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed. I never got to relax anymore, being leader and all. I hoped I would live to be an elder so I could enjoy the little things in life. The little things are what make our life memorable. It brings peace in between chaos. "Hawkpaw is ready to become a Warrior," Flamingraven said. "Is he? It's about time for Creekpaw's ceremony too," I thought out loud. I lifted my head and crossed the rest of the stones. I leaped onto Water Rock, Flamingraven doing the same. We sat together on the rock and watched the Clan start to wake up. I hoped nothing would ruin this day. Hawkpaw and Creekpaw left with Red-eye to go hunting after Red-eye asigned patrols. "Let's go hunting," I said and jumped off the rock. I sprinted joyfuly out of the camp and swerved to the moorland. I glanced back and saw Flamingraven following me. I gave a leap for joy and landed softly on some heather. Flamingraven came to a stop beside me. We watched the heather rise and fall like waves and were caught up in the beauty of the moment. Flamingraven lifted his head and scented the air. I did the same and scented rabbit. We moved in unison towards the smell. A rabbit chewed on some grass ahead of us, unaware of the danger. Flamingraven moved to the side and slowly crept around it and faced its front. The long heather hid his black pelt well. He gave a slight nod and rushed at the rabbit. It gave a start, then ran right into my waiting paws. Easy kill. We did this untill sun-high and went back to camp carrying four rabbits, or dragging them rather. When we got to camp, Red-eye and the two sibling apprentices were back and enjoying fresh-kill. We dropped off three rabbits, and carried the fourth one over to them. We settled down and had a nice conversation with the three cats. I listened to the cats chatter and watched as Talonkit came up shyly to me. "We turn six moons tomorrow," Talonkit said quietly. I took a bite of my rabbit and chewed it slowly. I swallowed it quickly. "So you do," I said. Talonkit shuffled his paws. "Are you nervous?" I asked. He nodded. "Why?" I asked. "Well, you're the leader and you probably don't appreciate a little kit coming to tell you when they turn six moons and that they should be an apprentice," he said quickly. "You are a part of this Clan just as much as any other cat. I'm glad that you came and told me, Talonkit," I said, trying to sooth his fraying nerves. He nodded and turned to walk away. Then he stopped and stared at my paw. "What happened?" he asked. I lifted my blood red paw and gazed at it. "I don't know," I answered slowly. Talonkit scuried away and Flamingraven and I finished our meal just as the sun was starting to set. I stretched and walked over to Water Rock. As I leaped onto it, FourClan was starting to gather around. "All cats who are old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Water Rock for a Clan meeting!" I yowled. The rest of the cats gathered around and I started the meeting. "Two apprentices have learned what it means to be a Warrior, and so they will be Warriors tonight," I began. I saw Hawkpaw and Creekpaw perk up. Stormpaw looked a little sad, but he knew that he would become a Warrior another day. "Hawkpaw and Creekpaw please step forward," I ordered. The two siblings stepped forward, shivering in anticipation. "Hawkpaw and Creekpaw. Do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code, even at the cost of your life?" I asked them. "I do," they said in unison. "Hawkpaw, from now on you will be known as Hawkstep. Creekpaw, from now on you will be known as Creeksplash," I said and hopped off Water Rock. I layed my muzzle on Hawkstep's head and he licked my shoulder. I did the same with Creeksplash. "Hawkstep! Creeksplash!" the Clan cheered. "It brings me great joy to make these two cats Warriors. Stormpaw, they are your siblings and I understand your sadness, but you were not an apprentice as long as these two were. Hold your head high and work hard, and then you will be a Warrior soon," I told Stormpaw. He straightened up and dipped his head to me. "Good. Tonight, you will sit your vigil," I told the new Warriors. The Clan left for their dens as the new Warriors sat in the middle of camp. I left, exausted but happy, to my den. It was then that I noticed the storm clouds that were covering the sky. We would get rain tomorrow. Chapter 2 I woke up in a lush green field. I sat up and looked around. A small brook ran in the field. The grass was long and dotted with flowers. I stood and trotted through the grass to the brook. I stooped down and lapped up the crystal clear water. I lifted my head and came face to face with a dark brown tom with a white underbelly and ice blue eyes. I don't know how, but I recognized this cat. "Whitestar," the tom said shortly. Water dripped from my mouth. "Hawkfrost," I said back. He took a step forward, into the brook. I took a step back. I growled slightly and he hissed softly. I turned and sprinted away from him. I heard his pawsteps behind me and dared to look back. He was falling behind. I looked forward again and swerved. I had almost hit a tree. My swerve gave Hawkfrost time to catch up. To my surprise, he gave a quick burst of speed and bowled me over. I trashed and kicked, but he griped my shoulders and held me to the ground. "Stay still! I'm not going to hurt you!" he yowled over my screeches. I stopped moving, but my muscles stayed tense. I was on high alert. "I'm going to let you go, but don't go anywhere," Hawkfrost said. He let me go and I stood up. I glared at him, then shook grass out of my pelt. "What?" I asked shortly. I was annoyed to no end. Can't these cats just let me sleep? "You know, you're really pretty in the sunlight. I can see why Flamingraven likes you," Hawkfrost said and sat down. I snorted and turned away. I started walking and heard Hawkfrost trot up beside me. He walked in step with me. "Really. Honest truth," Hawkfrost said. "Leave me alone," I said and walked faster. He walked faster also. I turned and faced him. "What in the name of StarClan do you want?!" I yowled. His eyes widened. "To spend time with you," he said softly. "Yeah right," I hissed and ran away. Again, he stayed with me. I ran faster and faster, but he still stayed with me. I leaped over the brook and Hawkfrost just ran through it. Before I could run any faster, Hawkfrost jumped on me. We began to wrestle. His size gave him slight advantage, but I knew all of RiverClan's tricks and was able to out maneuver him. He bit down on my ear and tore it. I yowled and pushed him off. I glared at him. His eyes were full of menace. Blood dripped from his mouth. My ear was bleeding badly. "You're mine now," he snarled. I felt sick to my stomach. I doubled over and fell to the ground. I lay there and panted. Hawkfrost layed a paw on my side. "Now you'll do whatever I say. Sorry that this will cause you pain," he said. I closed my eyes and fainted away from that horrible place. I woke up shivering. My ear was bleeding badly still. I limped out of my den and came face to face with Jayfeather. He was carrying herbs. "Let's get that ear fixed," he said. I sat down and he patched up my ear. Jayfeather didn't say a word while he worked. There must be alot of questions running through his head, but he stayed silent. When he was done, he looked me right in the eyes. "I have seen many cats die from the Dark Forest's quest for power," he said slowly and sharply. Before I could respond, he turned away and left me. A raindrop splattered on my nose. Before long, there was a steady drizzle. I sighed and crossed the stepping stones to Water Rock. I leaped onto Water Rock and hunched my shoulders. Chapter 3 Flamingraven P.O.V: Whitestar called us for a meeting. I sat next to Red-eye. She nudged me and pointed with her tail at Whitestar. I looked up and surprise corsed through me. She sat hunched against the rain. That was normal, in fact, all of us sat like that. The abnormal part was the fact that her ear was patched up and she looked moons older than she was. Her beautiful brown eyes were dull and confused. She looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep at all. "Two kits are ready to become apprentices. Talonkit and Brook-kit, please step forward," Whitestar said. Her voice sounded used and she looked haggard. The two kits stepped forward. "Talonkit, you will be known as Talonpaw until you earn your Warrior name. Your mentor will be Oakleaf," Whitestar said. The mentor and apprentice touched noses. I hope Oakleaf is mature enough for this responsiblity. "Brook-kit, your name will be Brookpaw until you earn your Warrior name. Your mentor will be Streamwhisper," Whitestar said. The mentor and apprentice touched noses. "That is all," Whitestar finished and leaped off of Water Rock. I walked over to her. I was greatly concerned. "Whitestar. Are you OK?" I asked quietly. She looked up at me sharply, her whole body tense. I gazed at her, hoping she could see the concern. She sighed and shook her head. I was suddently filled with hurt. "Ok. If you can't tell me what's wrong, then obviously I'm not needed," I said and walked away. I sat down next to Red-eye and looked at Whitestar. She was looking at her paws sadly. I looked at Red-eye and found that she was looking at me with sadness. "I don't think your relationship will work out," she said softly. I stiffened and looked away. Red-eye touched my shoulder with her tail. "Hardship can change a cat drastically. Take this advice from someone who really knows hardship," she said quietly and stood up. As she walked away I looked at Whitestar. She was looking at me. We stared at each other for a heartbeat then I looked away. The pain and coldness in her eyes told me all I needed to know. This really wasn't going to work. I would have to move on. A/N: Poor Flamingraven. What will happen next to the poor cat? I know, but you don't. That's the beauty of it all. The next book is called Scruffs' Painful Ending. Thanks for reading!! RainfireThe Scruffs' 23:26, June 1, 2010 (UTC) Category:Fanfiction Series